大象传媒

We lived in Edmonton N/London Mum Dad Me two brothers & two Sisters my other two brothers were in the Army & Navy.
Dad who had been in WW1 was now a fire warden and I used to watch the training in our back garden as they crepted up with stirrup pumps and sand bags I was 7 years old and new how to deal with fires.
One night 2 fire bombs went through our roof the upstairs was ablaze my younger sister was asleep in the upstairs room nothing could get her into that shelter with the spiders.
My Dad ran up the garden to the house just as he reached the back door my sister came through it like a greyhound knocking Dad to the ground where he sat with his shirt over his head and all his family jewels on display.
My sister looked at him and said Dad cover yourself up what will next door think.
The next day it was decided I was going to be evacuated,I told them that I did not set the house on fire.
The house was a mess with water and sand and as they cleared it out my Mum said she felt just like the Queen clearing all the water and sand out the Queen had had her house bombed to.
I was told that I was going to the country where there was fields and animals and everything would be very nice.
I had Skaybis and fleas and I had to go to the town hall to have baths in this yellow powder it would make you fight to get out of the bath the sting of it so i would of gone anywhere to get away from that.
The day came with my gas mask a carrier bag with new jim jams in it and a labal tied to me.
There was bus loads of us and we set off for the railway station we was all singing 10 Green bottles and one man went to mo.
When we got on the train some Mothers who had come to the station started pulling their kids off there was a lot of shouting going on and you wondered why these Mums did not want you to go to this wonderful place that you was going to.
We ate our sandwiches and drunk our milk the singing had stopped and the crying had started.
The train went on and on and on was it never going to stop.
When it did we lined up in crocadile lines and walked to a church hall.
Now my sisters who used to look after us young ones always told me that if I did not let them wash me a bogeyman would get me.
I felt sure that this was the home of the bogeyman.
Laying on the floor I am sure I did not shut my eyes all night.
In the morning people came into the hall and started to pick out who they wanted it started to look like no one wanted me then this kid came up to me and asked me if I was by myself I said yes,he asked how old I was I said 7 he was 8 and bigger than me he said to his Mum he will do and they took me home.
We walked through cobbled streets with wasing hanging across the road
The house was in a row every few houses an alley way went through to the back yard in the back yard was a row of huts Toilets,and a big bath hanging on the wall and a mangle to wring the clothes.
I was in Manchester.
Life in Manchester was a whole new ball game and I soon found out why I had been chosen me being a bit smaller then the lad who picked me who had a big brother who could dish it out and he wanted to pass it on to me.
Me being the second youngest in a family of 7 was use to looking after myself so he did not have it all his own way.
They had a room called the front parlour which you only seemed to go into if you was dead and layed out.
The hallway was highly polished with a runner mat up the middle and the white door step well you signed your own death warrent if you trod on that.
At school I discovered that I was a cockney bastard I did not have a clue what a cockney was.
Most of the kids wore clogs and every play time it was get the cockney bastards time.
The best place to get was behind the big iron gate and the wall formed a triangle so you could hang onto the gate and kick out.
One day I had had enough and decided that I was going home a railway line ran at the end of our road so I thought all I have to do is follow that back home.
I had not gone to far when a gang of workers were repairing the line (Manchester was being bombed to) one of them said where are you going I said I am going home.He said to London I said yes.
He said well it is 100s of miles so I had better have a cup of tea and he took me into a hut.
The next time the door opened there was a policeman standing there.
He put me onto his cross bar on his bike and took me back and told that if I tried to escape again they would have me shot.
Somehow the 3 years passed I then had a Lancashire accent which I took back to London with me to a family who was strangers to me and were now living in a church hall that they called a rest centre for homeless bombed out families.the war was over or so they said.
There was always more families living in the rest centre then there was gas cookers and tables and the Mothers trying to cook a meal for the families at night ended up in some right sort outs.
There was not much rest there just one fart would echo around the church hall.
It was not to long before I was in trouble for breaking and entering.
The Major who sat on the bench sent one of my mates into the boys navy he ended up an officer in the royal Navy,one to borstal for 18 monthes where he learnt the print trade and had his own business Me he asked if I liked adventure I said I suppose so.
Me being the youngest he sent me for training on the H M S Discovery Captains Scotts old ship tied up on the Thames embankment.
The crew was nearly all seaman who had been on sailing ships,you did not back chat them.
To climb to the top of the main mast was a must and even tied up it scared the pants off you the people below looked like ants and it was worse still coming down getting around the spars.
BUT I DONE IT
I am now nearly 69 I look at the kids of today and do you know what I would not change places with them because no matter what we always had pride.

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